


After a War

by Dracoette463



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Fiction, Hogwarts, Magical, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 09:39:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12033249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracoette463/pseuds/Dracoette463
Summary: How bad could living after a war be? Hermione thought she could handle it, but when every time she closes her eyes she sees those who died, maybe life is a little harder than she thought. When she goes back to Hogwarts for her seventh and final year, new problems arise and she cant help but think that there is always somehting wrong with the world, and that maybe, there's no point in going on. Can a certain someone bring her back from these horrid thoughts? Or will she fall to her doom?





	1. Chapter 1

Hermione stared at the ceiling of the leaky cauldron. She had rented a room, not knowing what else to do honestly. After Hogwarts she had planned on going to the ministry to start work but after the war between Voldemort and Harry, the ministry was trying to fix itself, fixing all the cracks and leaks. She almost went to the Weasley's but, after Fred's death, even Ron hadn't been seen in a few weeks. She felt bad for him, horrible even, but she felt worse for Harry. He felt so bad, even if Voldemort was evil, Harry still felt horrible for killing somebody. She looked at her arm for about the millionth time, Mudblood, She sighed to her self and sat up. She looked at her arm for a while longer until a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She pulled her silver sleeve down to cover the scar on her arm.  
"Come in!" She shouted. Harry walked in with Ron behind him. She shot out of her bed and hugged the boys.  
"How are you 'Mione?" Ron asked.  
"The better question is, how is your family?" Hermione asked. He looked at the ground and then back up at her.  
"They still need more time. Ginny only left the house long enough to see Harry today. It was the only time id seen her smile since... Well since the battle." Ron said. Harry looked around the room a bit. Harry and Ron sat on the bed.  
"So," She started. "why are you guys here?" They looked at each other then at her.  
"We were trying to decide what we were going to do with the rest of our lives the other day." Harry started.  
"And we thought that... Maybe..." Ron continued.  
"For goodness sake Ron!" Hermione shouted, getting a bit too anxious. She missed her friends and was a bit overly happy to see them for the first time in a while. Harry she had seen a few times since the war but Ron, she really missed Ron.  
"We thought we could continue our last year of Hogwarts. Maybe after that the ministry will be open again." Harry finished for Ron. Hermione stared at the two for a moment.  
"The battle interrupted our last year, and, we don't have anything else to do." Ron stumbled around his words. Hermione smiled at the thought of curling up in the library with a good book. She smiled at the thought of eating at the great Gryffindor table again. She smiled at the thought of sitting in the common room or in the dorm. Then she lost her smile at the fact that Hogwarts was destroyed. Books burning, blood staining the stairs, so many people hurt or worse. Tonks, Remus, Fred, they all gave their lives, along with so many more. She tried not to cry.  
"How?" She whispered. "Hogwarts is destroyed." She looked between her friends.  
"Haven't you seen the news 'Mione?" Ron asked. "They've worked their bloody butts off re-building it!" Ron looked at Hermione and then at Harry, who nodded. Hermione felt herself smile, even if it was just for Harry and Ron's sake.  
"You guys better not be lying!" She yelled. She walked over to the bed. Harry shook his head.  
"Its there Hermione, Hogwarts is back." Harry said. She leaped forward and landed on both boys, knocking them over. The three laughed and tried to sit up. There was a knock on the open door. Hermione was still facing the wrong way. The door was out of her viewing range.  
"Harry brought someone." Ron blurted out. He sounded more annoyed than ever. Hermione finally found her way and looked at the door. Draco Malfoy stood there. The Malfoys had abandoned their 'dark lord' and ran back into hiding. It didn't take long for the ministry to find them, Lucius was sent to Azkaban right away but Draco and his mother had a fair trial. Harry had told the judge about what Draco and his mother had done to help them along the way. Draco never did anything truly wrong, he was just in the wrong family. His mother had lied for Harry, she only wanted to keep her son safe. Lucius seemed to care for Draco but not enough to keep him away from Voldemort. Hermione shot a glare at Harry.  
"He's technically innocent Hermione!" Harry whispered. "He was forced to be a death eater." Hermione returned her gaze to the man in the doorway.  
"Hello Malfoy." Hermione said. She stood up and nodded slightly.  
"Granger." He simply said. She looked at Ron and tried to talk to him silently. Of all the things magic could do, why not telepathy? He shrugged, not knowing what she was trying to say. She looked back at the Malfoy standing in her doorway. His silvery-blue eyes stared at the top of the doorframe and his white-silver hair was combed but stray hairs stood on end while others spiked sideways and all around. He wore dark jeans and a grey T-shirt. Hermione turned her gaze to Harry and she tried to talk to him silently since Ron was too much of git to understand anything. Harry looked back at her with a look that said, does he really look evil to you? she looked at him and almost rolled her eyes. She looked at Draco and turned back to Harry, he looks evil enough to me! she tilted her head a bit to emphasize her motion. Ron seemed to get bored of the silence and interrupted Hermione and Harry's eye conversation.  
"So are we just going to sit around all day?" Ron asked. Everyone looked at him. He raised his hands in defence. "Bloody hell, I didn't want death glares from everyone! I'm just bored!" He yelled. Harry laughed a bit and soon Hermione joined in. Draco stood silently in the doorway and watched the trio. Ron looked at Harry and Hermione laugh, a bit confused himself.  
"Those weren't death glares Ron!" Hermione said.  
"Mine was." Draco mumbled. Hermione looked at Harry again, evil much? she asked. He looked at her and tilted his head a bit, dramatic much? she gave him the real death glare. Did he just call her dramatic? She wasn't dramatic! She just took things very seriously! More seriously than him apparently.  
"Is that a death glare?" Ron asked, his voice a bit frightened. The sound of both the boys in front of her swallowing hard filled her ears. She wanted to laugh just at how frightened they were of her. At the same time it hurt that her friends were frightened of her. She looked between the two boys and her gaze softened, maybe a bit too much because Harry looked up.  
"You OK?" He asked. Hermione nodded so fast her head hurt.  
"Yeah I'm fine." She said after she rubbed the back of her head a bit. She turned around and went for the door. She forgot the Draco was there and rammed into him.  
"Watch it Mudb-Granger!" He told her. She looked at him, she couldn't move her gaze if she tried, he corrected himself? Why not just call her the Mudblood she knew she was? Had he actually changed? She didn't care, right? He was the one- and still the one to call her names every time he looked at her, he was the one that made fun of her every chance he got. He just had the chance, why didn't he take it? Why would he call her Granger when he could've called her Mudblood? She tried to push the thoughts and questions out of her head but more kept flooding in. He raised a brow and looked at her impatiently as she stood there silently. She snapped back into reality and shoved past him.  
"Hermione!?" Ron yelled from inside the room. She ignored him and ran down the stairs and walked out onto the streets. She looked around at all the witches and wizards running around and talking about the coming new year. Snow fell slowly from the sky and landed on her hair. She couldn't help but smile at the nice cool and welcoming air. She turned and started walking, hoping to get lost in the crowd where nobody could find her. She started to walk around and try not to shove through the crowd but to maneuver around them without bumping into them. She succeeded for a while until...  
"Are you Hermione Granger?" Somebody asked and suddenly everyone was on her.  
"The Hermione Granger?" Somebody else asked.  
"Your Harry Potters friend right?"  
"You helped with the battle against you know who!"  
"Can you tell us more?" So many questions flooded at her at once she could barley hear them all. She had landed in these situations multiple times but never this bad. She pointed somewhere across the street and shouted.  
"Is that Harry Potter!?" She said as loud as she could. She hated using Harry's name to get people away from her but she had already tried everything, spells, other famous wizards, everything. People turned and ran to see if he was getting away. She sighed and looked back at the Leaky Cauldron, Ron and Harry were in the doorway and were struggling against crowds of people. She used this to her advantages. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She walked into the nearest place with a fire and used floo powder to get herself to Hogwarts. She didn't have long before Harry, Ron and maybe even the Malfoy caught up with her. She didn't want to just be the girl who helped the hero Harry Potter save the day. She shook her head and went the the headmistresses office. She couldn't not talk to anyone forever.  
"Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked. Hermione nodded.  
"Harry and Ron told me that Hogwarts was rebuilt and that classes were starting again." She said a bit quickly.  
"Yes, the school is re-opening, and we are starting to re-gather our students. I can add you to the list, but there is a catch." McGonagall looked at her desk and wrote a name on a piece of paper. Then she tried not to look up at Hermione by scribbling on another piece of paper.  
"What's the catch?" Hermione asked slowly.  
"Everyone has to go through the sorting hat again." McGonagall said softly. Hermione looked at the picture of Dumbledore behind her desk on the wall and waved. The man in a picture waved back. She looked back down at the professor.  
"Why?" She tried to ask calmly but the annoyance in her voice was clear.  
"Because people have changed." McGonagall said simply.  
"Is there a chance that we'll all end up in the same houses?"  
"Yes, as long as the hat believes you still deserve to be in that house."  
"What if I get Slytherin?" Hermione asked, almost of reflex. She couldn't imagine the horror of being a Slytherin. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, anything but Slytherin. She closed her eyes and waited for the headmistresses answer.  
"It is possible my dear, but, if you do, Slytherin will have received a great witch." McGonagall said, she seemed just as upset as Hermione on the matter.  
"I'm sorry, I cant be here right now." Hermione said, she used the floo powder to get back. Harry and Ron were nowhere in sight. She walked quickly back to the Leaky Cauldron and climbed the stars to her room. She looked in the doorway and her friends were gone, so was the Malfoy. She walked inside the room with her wand in hand, it had become normal that she drew her wand before entering rooms without crowds, she hated herself for it, it just reminded her over and over that the war had changed her. More than she cared to admit. She pushed thoughts out of her head as she walked into the room. She put her wand away after she made sure the room was clear. Still empty. She lifted her sleeve and stared at the scar. What would she do as a Slytherin? How would she ever make it? All the Slytherins were bound to make fun of her.  
"I win." A voice said from behind her. She jumped and turned around, how had she missed him? He was standing in the corner of the room. She was too surprised and confused to hear what he said.  
"What?" She asked, he smirked in the usual, what she would call evil smirk.  
"I won, Weasley and Potter made me stay here so if you came back I could flare them or something. I found you before they did." He said it as if was a bad thing but the way he smirked, just, confused her.  
"I found you." She corrected.  
"No you didn't, you couldn't see me." He said coolly. Hermione tilted her head to the side.  
"How did you do that?" She asked. Nobody knew spells she didn't, she wouldn't allow it!  
"A simple spell we learned in third year." He said. She sighed. How did she not remember that!? It was so simple! Wait, he was paying attention during classes? She always thought he was chatting with his friends nonstop.  
"Why didn't you call me Mudblood?" It was the first thing that popped in her head and she didn't think at all before saying it. Now she regretted it. She regretted coming back to her room, for going to Hogwarts, for everything that popped into her head at the moment but she pushed those thoughts away and focused on the here and now.  
"I'm trying not to be thrown in Azkaban with my father." He said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but his eyes, they never showed emotion but when it came to his parents, his eyes showed fear, pain, so much regret. She played the part and rolled her eyes and sat on the bed.  
"The truth Draco." She ordered. He stood up straighter.  
"Oh, my first name, I'm honored Granger." He said and took a small bow. She rolled her eyes again, this time for real, with him tended to get dizzy with how many times she rolled her eyes.  
"Draco!" She yelled.  
"Fine! I am trying to prove that I am a good person and calling you Mudblood isn't going to help me!" He stumbled around his words and questioned himself. Hermione had never seen a Malfoy stumble on words before, at least not that she could remember. She didn't say anything. He wanted to prove himself? "Granger." He addressed her. He walked out of the room and left her sitting there.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione sat on the bed in her rented room. What was Draco doing? Not that she cared, she still didn't care, right? Was he getting Ron and Harry? She should tell them about the sorting hat. She looked at her arm again and brushed her fingers along the word. It had become a habit that she didn't even try to break. That witch still haunted her dreams, some times Harry and Ron were there too, getting tortured along with her. Some times it a Lucius or Draco himself that did the torturing, once Voldemort had tortured her and she always tried to forget it. None were as bad a Bellatrix herself though. She told her horrible things, things she couldn't forget if she used magic. A tear from her eye fell as she remembered the words. She promised herself she wouldn't cry over it again but she had broken that promise so many times that she didn't even care anymore.  
"That war didn't break me, it made me stronger." She mumbled to herself. She tried to believe it but something always proved her wrong. How could she go back to Hogwarts? Even if she was put back in Gryffindor, and all her friends got back in, would she ever feel normal again? How could she be normal? She was a witch, witches weren't normal. Muggles were. They could live life without worry of curses being cast on them or a spell going wrong and hurting someone. She looked at her suitcase against the wall. Muggles didn't have to make their parents forget them so they would be safe. She missed her parents so much. She had tried to give them back their memories but it didn't work. She let tears fall from her eyes and the room fill with the sound of sadness. The air felt like water and breathing almost wasn't possible. It felt like the world wrapped its hands around her neck and wouldn't let go. She buried her face in her bent knees and tried to make herself stop crying. A hand was on her right shoulder, then another on her left. She looked up and her favorite people in the world sat beside her. She grabbed both of them at once and hugged them for as long as they would let her.  
"Blimey 'Mione! I'm trying to breathe!" Ron said after she started to squeeze them harder.  
"Sorry." She blurted out before letting go of the two. They both rubbed their necks and smiled at her.  
"Miss us much?" Harry asked. Hermione laughed and nodded, then she remembered what McGonagall said.  
"I went to Hogwarts." She blurted out before thinking.  
"What'd ya do?" Ron asked. It wasn't the question she expected, she thought there might be a why or you left us to go there? She tried to find the words she wanted.  
"McGonagall said that we have to go through the sorting hat again. We could end up in different houses." Hermione said. It came out wrong, it was supposed to answer the question and tell them about the sorting hat.  
"Are you telling me, Granger could be Slytherin, Weasley could be Hufflepuff, Potter could be Ravenclaw, and I could be Gryffindor?" Draco asked, everyone shivered at the thought. He stood in the doorway again, staring at her arm with the scar. She pulled her sleeve over the scar and looked at her friends.  
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm telling you." Hermione said after everyone imagined it for a bit.  
"Or we could all just return to where we belong?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded. He walked into the room and leaned against the wall.  
"Bloody hell, its like being a first year again." Ron said. Harry looked at the ceiling, probably remembering their first year. Hermione looked around. It seemed like something always happened at Hogwarts for them, not much for everyone else but for them. She knew from the start that things would be different with the all-so-famous Harry Potter going to Hogwarts but, now that she looked back at everything, it seemed like not only did he change the school, he changed the world. Hermione shivered at the thought of the entire world bending because of one person.  
"Do you think the hat will put us back in our original houses?" Harry asked after a long silence filled the room and quickly evacuated when he spoke.  
"McGonagall said the entire reason that we have to do it again is because we're new people." She told everyone. Ron groaned.  
"We're not that different." Ron said, stretching the word -that- a bit too far.  
"We are Ron. We've all changed, whether its for better or for worse is up to us." Hermione said, she stood up and went to the corner of the room.  
"Why don't we try it then?" Harry asked.  
"Try what?" Draco asked.  
"We should become the opposite of our self and see just how much we've changed." Harry said excitedly.  
"You sure?" Ron asked. "Seems weird to have Malfoy as the kind one and 'Mione as the bad girl." Hermione felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought but she would look great in a bad girl outfit. She started thinking about how she could do it.  
"No." Draco said flatly.  
"Yes!" Hermione said happily. "Lets all go shopping!" She was never excited for shopping unless it was for school stuff but the thought seemed cool enough.  
"Granger." Draco warned. She grabbed as many hands that she could. She had Ron and Harry's hand held firmly into her right hand and Draco's hand in her left. She pulled them outside and looked at what shop to go to first.  
"We should split into groups, who wants Draco?" Hermione asked. She let go of Harry and Ron's hands.  
"Not it!" Harry called.  
"Nope!" Ron called.  
"Seriously guys?" Hermione asked.  
"Really? I'm right here!" Draco said.  
"Lets go." Hermione said. Harry and Ron smiled and walked off to whatever shop they wanted. She realized she was still holding his hand and quickly let it go. This was going to suck, but she smirked and had a idea. It took forever but she brought him to a Muggle mall.  
"Granger? Where is this?" He asked as they walked in the door and the smell of food court food and the sound of people talking and Music filled the air.  
"Don't use your wand Malfoy, we're in the Muggle world." She said quietly. He looked at her both in shock and rage.  
"Why would you bring me to the shopping place of Muggles!?" He asked. She smiled.  
"To teach you a few things about muggles and, its fun to shop at the mall." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the first store she could see.  
"Mall? What a weird thing to call a group of stores." He mumbled, mostly to himself. Hermione laughed. Wait, did she just laugh, at something Draco said? She looked at him for a minute, he was trying to look like what he thought was a muggle but was failing miserably. He looked like a grumpy kid that hadn't gotten what he wanted for Christmas. She tried not to laugh again. He looked around and then turned to her when she tried not to laugh.  
"Whats wrong with you, Granger?" He asked. She looked up at him again.  
"Your trying to fit in too hard." She looked around the store they were in and spotted something. "So, were supposed to be looking for anything that is the opposite of you." She asked herself but he answered.  
"I guess, so we're going to have to find something really ugly." He said and smirked. She rolled her eyes and picked up the outfit she saw. She made him try it on in the fitting rooms and pretend to be a model, after she explained what a model was.  
"Do 'Models' really do this?" He asked as he walked to her, spun around and walked back to the fitting room. She was trying desperately not to laugh. If she had a phone she would take pictures and send them to Harry and Ron but the didn't really have phones either. Eventually they were done shopping for him and went to another store. Hermione picked a outfit that she would absolutely hate, because, well, she was turning into her opposite self.  
"You sure about this Granger? This is a bit more 'bad girl' than even I expected you to go." He said. She tilted her head at the outfit and nodded. He shrugged and they went to the fitting rooms. He sat on the bench and waited for her to play model. She came out in the outfit and he dropped his bag. She had a dark red tank top, a black leather jacket, black boots, a choker necklace, pitch black jeans, and she had a few dark red bracelets on her wrist.  
"So? Look like something id never wear?" She asked, she spun around. He didn't say anything for a minute.  
"Umm, yeah," He seemed to have trouble talking. "Yes, y-you'd never wear that." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Are we done now?"  
"Yeah, we can go, after..." she started.  
"Granger! I'm done! I don't like shopping in-" He lowered his voice "Muggle stores." he finished.  
"We're not shopping, we're done with that."  
"Then what are we doing? Please tell me its going back to your friends!" He begged.  
"Lunch, are you not starving?" She asked. "The mall has some horrible food so I know a place not too far from here that we can go to."  
"I thought we we're going to eat later, back with your friends?"  
"Their your friends too now Draco, and no, we can eat here, its fine." She paused and looked at the sleeve covering her scar. "Don't want to eat with a Mudblood?" She asked quietly. He stood up.  
"That's not it!" He said quickly. She looked at him with disbelief. He grabbed her arm and she paid for what they bought. He watched her pay with a form of currency that he had never seen. She tried not to earn questions from the cashier about how Draco was staring at the money in her hand as if it was a alien by stomping on his foot slightly. He remain silent but he defiantly gave her a horrible glare. The cashier looked at him and tilted her head slightly.  
"Are you ok sir?" She asked. Draco ignored the woman and continued to give Hermione the glare. She tried to come up with an excuse to make it look like he wasn't a murderer.  
"This is my boyfriend and he let me use his money today and I guess I spent a bit too much. Its fine though." Was the first thing she came up with. The cashier rolled her eyes.  
"Men." She mumbled. Hermione nodded. She looked at Draco, he no longer was angry at her, he looked surprised and shocked at the same time. She smiled at him and tried to make it seem more realistic.  
"Thank you for letting me use some of your money-" She had to pinch her arm to make herself say it "Sweetie." She pinched her arm again. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. Then she turned back to the cashier and smiled. Did she seriously just do that!? She almost pinched herself again. She didn't want to look at Draco. The cashier handed her a bag and told her to have a good day.  
"Thank you, and we will." She said back. They walked out of the store, then left the mall. They walked along the sidewalk in silence.  
"So, umm, where's this place you said you wanted to eat at?" He asked.  
"Just down the road a bit more." She said. Rain started to fall slowly on the already snowy area.  
"This is going to turn to ice."  
"Well yes, great job, now, next question, what happens when its hot?" She asked sarcastically. He let out what seemed to be a small growl.  
"I meant, me and you are both holding bags and one of us is going to slip and break our neck!" He said.  
"I think we're fine Malfoy."  
"Finally! Back to my last name! Its weird having you call me Draco." He said. She sighed and walked into the parking lot of Mc. Donald's. He looked up at the large golden M.  
"Mc. Donald's? What kind of place is this?" He asked. She almost laughed again.  
"One of the most famous fast food places in the world." She said. They walked inside and she ordered two cheeseburgers. He sat at a table. She sat across from him and they put their bags under the table.  
"Muggles are weird." He mumbled as he looked around. She couldn't help but laugh. "What Granger?"  
"Muggles would call us weird." She told him and continued. "Some think magic is cool, others are scared, most are angry." She looked at the table. Two neatly wrapped burgers, one large box of fries, and two large drinks were put on the table.  
"Thank you." Draco said. They guy nodded and walked back behind the counter. He looked at the food.  
"This, is a normal cheeseburger. They have them at Hogwarts but they're not the same." She said. She unwrapped hers and his, then she slid his over to him. She picked it up and took a bite. She waited for him to do the same. He crinkled his nose and shook his head.  
"My father says-" He started.  
"What your father says about muggles doesn't matter anymore. Take a bite." She said. He looked at her for a minute then back down at the burger. He picked it up and took a bite.  
"There, happy?" He paused for a moment then picked the burger back up and devoured it. She laughed and ate her burger at a normal pace. A few of the other people in the area chuckled and laughed when they glanced over to the crazy white-haired boy that ate like he had never eaten before.  
"Yes, very happy, thank you." She said after he finished the burger. He pointed at the fries.  
"Those taste as good as the burger?" He asked.  
"Sure, but they taste better with ketchup or BBQ." She slid both sauces to him. She grabbed a fry and dipped it in the ketchup. He took a fry and tried it plain. Then he tried it with the two sauces. She had to get a few fries for herself before he grabbed them and started eating them faster than the burger. He looked at the soda and then at her.  
"What about that?"  
"That is coke." She said. She grabbed the drink and sipped it. He picked his up slowly, and sipped it. She laughed again and tried not to spit her drink all over him. She didn't know how he drank it so fast but he got so many refills, he may have cleaned out all the sodas from the machine. She decided to buy one more thing.  
"What are you doing?" He asked when she stood up.  
"I'm going to get something else, wait here." She said. She walked to the counter and as she waited for the guy to walk up she watched Draco sit at the table, smirking as usual and waiting for her to come back.  
"Can I help you?" The guy asked, she turned to him and nodded.  
"Two chocolate milkshakes please." She put a stack of money on the counter. "And that's for all the soda he drank." The guy nodded gratefully and took the money. He made the two shakes and brought it to her. She grabbed them, thanked the guy and sat at the table.  
"I thought they were out of soda." He said, looking at the cup it was kept in.  
"These, are milkshakes." Hermione said. She smiled and handed it to him. He took and sip and sucked on the straw quickly.  
"Bloody hell Granger. What did you do to it?" He asked as he rushed his hand to his head. She laughed.  
"That is called a brain freeze, its when you drink something cold too fast." She explained. She sipped from her own and laughed again as he put the cup down and slid it away.  
"I don't like those." He said.  
"Sip it slowly Draco." She said. She continued to drink hers. He hesitantly grabbed the shake and sipped it slowly.  
"Ok," He admitted. "That's better." She smiled and looked outside at the sun setting. She gasped.  
"Ron and Harry are going to think you murdered me and ran off." She said rather loudly. People looked at her, both worried and angry that their evening was interrupted.  
"Granger, keep your voice down, the muggles." He said quietly. She grabbed his arm and as many bags as she could carry and they found their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. By the time they got there the sun was gone and the moon had taken its place. She sighed and climbed the floors to her room. She opened the door. Harry was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, he looked different. Ron stood by the chair and laughed as Hermione and Draco entered with bags everywhere.  
"Great job." Ron said. "You bought the entire store."  
"No, we bought some of many stores at the mall." Draco said.  
"The mall? You went all the way back to were muggles lived to go to the mall?" Harry asked.  
"Looks like we did, now everyone get changed, I want to see everyone's new look." She said. She grabbed a bag and got a outfit from it. She went to the bathroom and changed. Harry knocked at the door.  
"We're all done, hurry up." He said.  
"You guys used magic didn't you?" She asked.  
"Why wouldn't we?" Ron asked. "Malfoy didn't though, oddly, you took him to the muggles and broke him didn't you 'Mione?"  
"Fine!" Hermione said. She grabbed her wand and did her outfit. She walked out and everyone stared at her for seconds, then minutes, then what seemed like forever. She had the outfit she tried on first at the store on with Black hair, deep red lip stick, and make-up. Draco had the outfit she chose for him. A blue t-shirt and denim jeans. Ron had dark back jeans and a red hoodie. Harry had contacts, dark jeans, and a green flannel shirt.  
"Wow." Harry eventually said. Ron and Harry eventually looked at something else.  
"Draco?" Hermione asked. He snapped back into reality and rubbed the back of his neck.  
"Yeah?"  
"You ok?" She asked. He nodded.  
"Just weird to see somebody that was-" He cut himself off.  
To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone looked at each other for a while. Other than Draco, he was standing in a corner staring at the floor. Hermione looked at herself in a mirror on the wall. She hated that look. The hair, everything. She didn't want to be anywhere near Muggle right now, she grabbed her wand and blinked herself back into her normal outfit.  
"Bad idea." She said. She looked around, Harry and Ron had already changed back with their wands. They let out a sigh of relief and Harry put his glasses back on.  
"Bloody hell, that was horrible." Ron said. Hermione nodded.  
"Well, we haven't changed much at least. We have decent chance at getting back into our houses." Harry said. Hermione nodded.  
"Speaking of houses, we should pack." Hermione said.  
"Yeah, I'll see you later 'Mione." Ron said. She hugged him and Harry. Draco emerged from the corner.  
"What else do muggles do?" He asked quietly. At first she thought he was joking but when she looked at him, he looked serious.  
"Lots of things, they go to movies, watch TV at home, go to the park." She trailed off and remembered going to the park with her parents and snuggling up on the couch to watch a good movie. Or accidently throwing the popcorn her mom made in the air during the scary parts of a horror movie. She forgot she wasn't alone and a tear fell from her eye.  
"Granger?" Draco asked. She wiped her eyes quickly and turned to face him.  
"Yes?" She asked, her voice cracked unexpectedly.  
"You ok? Should I get Potter and Weasley?" He asked. "They couldn't have gotten far."  
"No, I'm fine. I-I just miss my parents." She said. She turned to her bed with the suitcase and put a few more outfits in. She glanced at him, she expected him to look at her like she was weak, like he usually did, but he actually looked the same way she did.  
"My parents are in Azkaban." He said. She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. She backed away from him almost immediately.  
"Sorry, Ron and Harry have the emotional range of a teaspoon." She said. She wiped her eyes and cheeks again. He walked out of the room without saying anything. She nodded to herself and turned to her suitcase. She sat on the bed. Did a mudblood just hug a pureblood? Why did she though? Why would he just walk out without saying anything? She used magic to send her suitcase flying across the room to land on a chair. She fell back on the bed and fell asleep quickly.

She was at Hogwarts. She smiled and sighed of relief that she wasn't haunted by the Malfoy Mansion. She looked around, not a single student or even teacher was seen down any of the halls. She walked to the Great Hall, still empty. A house elf appeared in front of her.  
"Dobby?" Hermione asked.  
"Miss Granger mustn't go to Hogwarts!" Dobby said quite loudly.  
"Why? Dobby how are you... alive?" She looked down at the house elf in front of her and tried not to cry.  
"I'm not alive miss Granger but I still have the ability to contact you through dreams." Dobby smiled and hugged her leg. She knelt down and hugged the house elf fully.  
"Now, why cant I go to Hogwarts?" She asked after Dobby let go of her. She remained kneeling.  
"You will be in grave danger, don't ask Dobby how but don't go to Hogwarts this year." He said. Hermione shook her head.  
"When you told Harry not to go, he went anyway and he's fine Dobby."  
"He wouldn't have been Miss Granger. He had much luck. The boy who constantly conquered death." Dobby said.  
"I'm sorry Dobby but, I have to go to Hogwarts." Hermione said. Dobby hugged her again.  
"If you must Miss Granger." He whispered in her ear.

She sat up quickly and looked around. Still in the Leaky Cauldron. She sighed, half of fear and half of relief. She stood up out of her bed and rubbed her eyes. She looked at her suitcase, she was starting classes on Monday. She looked at the ceiling and tried to remember what day it was. Saturday? Yeah, it was Saturday. She picked up her bag and suitcase. She walked down stairs and paid for her room. She walked down the snowy sidewalk and tried not to act like a kid. She really baddy wanted to drop her bags and jump around in the snow. She wasn't going to. Don't do it, she kept telling herself. Your grown up now! You don't play in the snow! A ball of snow and ice hit her shoulder. She shrieked and looked where the snowball came from. Ron.  
"Ron! Seriously!?" She yelled.  
"Come on 'Mione! We don't have to be at Hogwarts for a few more hours!" Ron yelled back. Another snowball flew from another direction.  
"Harry!" Hermione yelled again.  
"You used to love snowball fights!" Harry yelled. Two more snowballs hit her. She pulled out her wand and teleported her bags to the front gate of Hogwarts. She ran behind a pile of snow.  
"They want a snowball fight?" She asked herself. "I'll give them one." She used her wand to form the snow into a dome. She started making snow into snowballs and launched them out of a window of her dome.  
"A dome? Oh your on!" Harry yelled. A snow castle formed over Ron and Harry. Snowballs flew both ways.  
"This is two against one, how are you winning?!" Ron yelled. Hermione laughed and launched her snowballs quicker and with more energy then before. She knocked Harry over, then Ron slipped while trying to get more snow for snowballs.  
"I win!" Hermione yelled.  
"No you don't." Ron said.  
"And why is that?" She folded her arms and watched him get up.  
"Because, we have backup." Ron said. A snowball hit the back of her head. She turned slowly. Draco had taken her dome and all the snowballs in it.  
"Malfoy!?" Hermione yelled as she was pelted with snowballs until she fell back. She looked up as the three boys surrounded her. Harry helped her up.  
"Sorry Granger." Draco said. She punched his shoulder and he winced, "You don't have to punch me!" He yelled.  
"You didn't have to steal my dome!" She yelled back.  
"All is fair in snowballs fights." Ron reminded her.  
"I don't care! I never wanted a snowball fight! I wanted to go back to Hogwarts and-" Hermione started.  
"Read in the library?" Harry asked. She looked at him and then at her hands.  
"Well, I wanted to have hot chocolate too, not just read." She mumbled.  
"You read too much Granger." Draco said.  
"You-" She couldn't think of a good come-back.  
"I what?" He teased.  
"Shut up Draco." Hermione hissed. She walked back up to the sidewalk. The guys followed her.  
"What'd you do with your bags?" Ron asked.  
"Sent them to Hogwarts, what'd you do with yours?" Hermione asked.  
"The same thing." Harry said. Everyone walked silently for a while.  
"Do you think they'll still have Quidditch?" Ron asked.  
"Probably not." Harry said quite upset about the matter.  
"You'll have other things to do. Like try and live when you end up with a Malfoy in your dorm." Hermione said happily.  
"You think I'll get Gryffindor?" Draco asked. She stopped walking and turned to the three boys behind her. Ron looked more upset to share a room with Draco than Harry, but Harry saw the good in Draco.  
"I think if any of the four of us is going to change houses, it'll be me or you." She told Draco.  
"Why would you change houses?" Ron asked. Draco seemed a bit happy at the thought of being in Gryffindor. Even for someone that enjoyed being a Slytherin for so long.  
"Gryffindor values Bravery, Daring, nerve, and chivalry, while Hufflepuff values hard work, dedication, patience, and loyalty, Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge, and wit, Slytherin values itself with ambition, cunning and resourcefulness." She said. All three of the boys nodded.  
"You'd go well with all the houses." Draco said.  
"Is that a compliment Draco?" Hermione teased.  
"Shut up Granger." Draco said. He started walking again. Ron sighed. The three tried to catch up with Draco. Hermione regained the lead until they reached a place with a fire. They floo powdered into Hogwarts. Hermione smiled at the familiar halls. They did a great job rebuilding the place.  
"Draco Malfoy." Someone from behind them said.  
"Theodore Nott." Draco said. He turned around and fist bumped his friend.  
"Why you hanging with Potter and his sidekicks?" Theo asked. Draco looked at Ron and Hermione, then turned back to Theo.  
"They're not his sidekicks." Draco threatened. Hermione shivered, the man that had tried to have them killed was defending them. She closed her eyes and every time he called her Mudblood or worse flashed by. She opened her eyes and tried not to think about it anymore.  
"Wow, what a war does to people." Theo said. He turned and walked down the hall. Draco turned to face the three slowly.  
"Thank you." Hermione said.  
"Don't tell anyone, Theo's already going to tell the Slytherins." Draco said. McGonagall walked up to them.  
"We have started the sorting, please make your way to the great hall, pass word to anyone you see along the way." She said. The four nodded and followed McGonagall to the great hall.


End file.
